Today's Stat

$6,500 - $7,000
is the average cost of a funeral in the U.S. according to the Funerals Director Assoc. as quoted on NPR's Fresh Air. That doesn't include cemetary costs (the plot, digging the grave, etc) or the cost of the head stone. Over all costs rises close to $10,000.

Yeah, that's a little morbid. Even though I have a feel for these costs, when I hear them it still blows my mind.

Cremation is much cheaper. About $1,400 according to the Mark Harris, author of Grave Matters, who is being interviewed on NPR's Fresh Air.

Harris' book aparently points out that a lot of the funeral process is not "natural." The embalming, the caskets, and everything prevents bodies from decomposing. I know that it is uncomfortable for people to think of this but it is the natural process. Our bodies, and I'm not talking about the possibility of souls here, are made up of organic materials. They should be allowed to decompose and return to the natural cycle of life.